R. In the ominous shadow of Kelly’s case, his illegal marriage to singer Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time.

Aaliyah’s ghost hovered over R. From the first hours of his trial on Kelly. Sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday, June 29, for sexually exploiting (in particular) young minors, the 54-year-old singer must answer for one of the first scandals to tarnish his reputation: his illegal marriage in 1994. the prodigy, Aaliyah, when she was just 15 years old. If the outline of their meeting is still unclear to many, their story hit the headlines when a planetary tube translator I believe, I can fly Then 27 years old, began a relationship with the future rising star of R’n’B, who died in a plane crash in 2001.

In the video, American singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex crimes

Musicals and TV shows

If at that time R. Kelly was already a successful singer, then Alia took her first steps in the field of recording. Coming from a modest Catholic family, who grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Detroit, he discovered a talent for music at a very young age. At the age of 5, he went to musicals and television shows, always encouraged by his parents, Diane and Michael Houghton. After the first stage experience in a musical Ann:, just 6 years old, and attending high school in Detroit, his uncle, producer Barry Hankerson, signed him to his Blackground Records label when he was 12 years old. It is undoubtedly in the heart of these recording studios that he will first hit R. With Kelly.

Three years later, in 1994, Aaliyah signed her first album, titled Age is nothing but reckoning which will sell more than one million samples at Rs. With input from Kelly. The teenage prodigy just celebrated his 15th birthday, and the one who became his mentor is already 27 years old. If the rumors about the relationship were already circulating through the walls of the music industry, the suspicions were confirmed when the couple got married this same year. A mysterious marriage, which was announced on August 31, in a hotel room in Illinois. Even more enigmatic is that it will be canceled because of a fake certificate that proves the singer’s majority.

Woman or victim?

According to R. According to evidence uncovered during Kelly’s trial, which took place in August and September 2021, Kelly did indeed pay a government official that year to obtain a fake ID. This is “marrying a minor designated as “Jane Doe #1(Aliya, Ed.) in the file,” reports AFP. Was Aliya, like the other victims, during this union with R. Influenced by Kelly. Did he molest her when she was only 15? If the singer has always declared his innocence, calling him his “best friend”, the prosecutors put forward a completely different version.

Because all the collected testimonies tell that at that time R. Kelly had sex with a young girl and feared she was pregnant. Thus, the marriage places her as the legal guardian, enabling her to consent to the abortion. On September 1, 2021, pastor Nathan Edmond, who brought the two musicians together, also testified before a New York court jury. On the podium, the latter recalled the couple in tracksuits before explaining how R. Kelly forced her to sign a questionable non-disclosure agreement just ten minutes before the ceremony.

In the video, what are the real numbers of violence against women?

Under the pressure of the singer’s parents and the press, which made a lot of noise about this bad relationship, R. Kelly and Aaliyah’s marriage was finally called off. He went into exile in Europe and in 1996 signed a contract with Atlantic Records. His second album, Out of a million offers him a collaboration with Missy Elliott or Justin Timberlake. His latest self-titled album AliyahReleased in July 2001, selling 210,000 copies, it was his last major success. A tragic fate, as the history of rock can write. The rising R’n’B star dies a month after the disc’s release in a plane crash in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas, where he had returned to shoot a music video. .